A Strange Customer
by abaikgirl
Summary: When Karl fails to obtain his wish in the Law of Talos tournament, he sets his sight on Yuko's shop. He has his wish granted but is unwittingly forced to stay. Will Wantanuki survive this murderous new addition to the shop? CHAPTER 4 UP!
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Karl or any of the xxxHolic characters.

xxxHolic belongs to CLAMP

Karl belongs to Unknown-Person. Go check his stuff out at .com

However, the idea, concept and actual writing of this story DOES belong to me.

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The sound of heavy boots clunking across Yuko's wood floors startled Wantanuki. He looked up from his dusting and was taken aback by the man who stood before him. Tall and handsome, his hair was blonde and pulled back into a ponytail. A yellow and black bandana hid most it from view. His face was lit up with a sweet smile. A smile that looked sinister with the three violent scars slashed across his left eye. "Well hello there," the man said.

Wantanuki stood up straight. "Um, hi. Are you here to see Yuko?" –I didn't even hear him come in,- he thought. –But he must be a customer.-

"As a matter of fact I am. I hear that the witch here can grant me any wish." There was movement on the man's shoulder and Wantanuki saw a black crow was perched there, looking at him innocently.

"Yes, that's right," he answered.

Yuko's voice came from the doorway behind Wantanuki, wafting across the air as mysterious as the smoke from her opium pipe. "Well hello Karl. I see you've finally arrived."

The man stiffened. Wantanuki looked at him. Karl? Not the name he would expect such a pirate-like man to be called. Karl recovered from the shock of Yuko calling him by name. "I didn't know you were expecting me."

Yuko smiled knowingly at him and gave no response.

He giggled, a high-pitched, terrifying sound that sent shivers up Wantanuki's spine. "I apologize for keeping you waiting then. You see, I heard about this place by word of mouth. It was a bit of a coincidence that I happened upon it at all."

"There is no such thing as coincidence in this world. Only inevitability,"

Karl dismissed her comment with a smile. "Yes, that's very interesting. But if we could get down to the matter of my wish? You see, I'm in quite a hurry."

Yuko took a long drag of her pipe and blew the smoke out. "First we should discuss your payment."

"You can have anything you like. If it's mine to give I'll gladly give it to you in exchange for what I want." Karl stroked his crow, clearly impatient.

"One should not be so quick to say they'll pay anything," Yuko said. "But seeing as you've already committed yourself, tell me. What it your wish?"

Wantanuki remained behind Yuko. Karl scared him but he was curious to hear what this strange man's wish was. Karl spoke simply and in an almost serious tone. "I want to be free." The sober air evaporated as he put a hand on his hip. "To be more precise, I want an energy source. Something that won't restrict me to staying in one place and will last as long as I do."

Yuko put her pipe on the side table. "That should be fairly easy," she said. She raised her hands and a strong wind swept through the room. Wafts of strange fog curled around Karl. A glowing bracelet formed around his right hand and in a moment the wind dissipated. Yuko looked pleased with herself. "There. How does that suit you?"

Karl flexed his right hand. Wantanuki noticed it was an unnatural gray. Almost like it was made out of cement and not flesh. The pirate smiled. "I'm impressed." His hand reached for his bird. In one swift motion the crow morphed into a cutlass which Karl swung at Yuko's head. The tall woman summoned a sword with a whirl of magic and blocked his blow. She pushed him back and shoved Wantanuki to the side. Tumbling behind the couch, Wantanuki watched them fight with wide eyes. Mokona popped up next to him.

"You don't think he'll hurt Yuko-san, do you?" Wantanuki asked.

"No way," Mokona said with confidence. "Yuko's too fast for that."

The two danced around each other. Karl bumped into a pedestal and knocked the vase on top off. Wantanuki yelled and dove forward, catching it, but just barely. He let out a sigh of relief. Then he yelped as a cold, rough hand grabbed him by the collar, making him drop the vase. It shattered, but Wantanuki had other things to worry about. Karl wrapped an arm around him, holding the blade of his sword close to his captive's neck. Yuko hesitated.

"I really am grateful for you solving my problem for me Witch Lady, but I have no intention to pay you. Now if you don't want your little human to die, I think you should perhaps forget you ever saw me." Karl's tone was cheerful, but deadly. Like arsenic in lemonade.

Yuko made her sword vanish with a flick of her wrist but she didn't seem worried at all. Instead, she returned Karl's smile. "All things in this universe has balance. If you do not pay, that balance will be disrupted. After all, you committed to pay earlier. If it was a lie or not doesn't matter. Words are binding things." She took a step towards him and Karl pressed the sword closer to Wantanuki's neck. He gasped.

"Uh…Y-Yuko-san?"

The space time witch kept her eyes on Karl. "You payment went into effect as soon as that bracelet formed on your wrist. Something of equal value must always be given in return. So, in order for you to have an energy source that won't restrict you, you must never intentionally kill or maim another living thing as long as you are alive."

Karl faltered for a moment. But only for a moment. "How do I know you're not making it up?" he asked.

"Do you really want to try your luck? Go on, kill him. But don't be surprised if that bracelet shatters the moment you do."

It was a tense moment and Wantanuki definitely didn't like Yuko's suggestion for Karl to kill him. But it wasn't like he could do anything about it in his current position. Karl's grip tightened on him but he let him go. Wantanuki stumbled away and hid behind Yuko. The pirate shrugged. "Seems I don't have much of a choice in the matter, now do I? Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be leaving." His sword became a bird again and he made to leave.

"But you have another thing to pay for," Yuko said with a little smile.

Karl turned to see her holding a piece of porcelain in her pale fingers. Wantanuki blanched. "The vase! I'm sorry Yuko-san! I didn't mean to let it fall!"

The space-time witch looked amused. "Oh, it's not your fault Wantanuki. After all, you did catch it. It was Karl here who made you drop it. And, by extension, it was him who broke it."

Folding his arms, Karl gave Yuko an irritated smile. "I don't have any money."

"I don't want money," Yuko replied. "The vase was something of great value to me, so therefore you must pay with something of great value to you."

He put a hand over his bird protectively. "And that would be?" he asked coyly.

Yuko laughed. "Not your bird. Perhaps next time. No. You will pay with your freedom. From now on you must work for me until your debt is paid."

Karl's scarred eye twitched. "And that would be how long?" he asked.

"Oh, about four weeks I'd imagine. Until then you are not allowed to leave this lot unless I specifically tell you you can."

Wantanuki grimaced. "How do I just know this isn't going to turn out well?"


	2. Chapter 2

Karl and Arma belongs to Unknown-Person. His stuff is on a site called DeviantArt .com.

xxxHolic belongs to CLAMP

The plot and concept of this fic is MINE!!

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"Let me get this straight," Wantanuki said, struggling to keep his temper. "You want me… to work with HIM?" He pointed at Karl with a shaking finger.

Yuko was unfazed as usual. "Of course. If he's to repay his debt he has to do some work."

"But Yuko. He tried to kill you and he's already shown he's destructive. I'm not going to let him anywhere near the food."

"That's understandable. I doubt he would be of any help anyways. He doesn't eat."

Wantanuki faltered. "What?"

"Haven't you noticed yet?" Yuko asked, taking a sip of her sake. "He isn't human. He's a statue."

The dark-haired youth paused. "Now that I think about it, when he grabbed me, he was hard and cold. Like…almost like…"

"Stone?" Yuko offered.

Wantanuki nodded.

"Hard like stone! Hard like stone!" Maru and Moro exclaimed. "Hard and cold just like stone!" They linked hands and danced around Karl.

His smile never wavered, but his scared eye twitched with annoyance. "As … heartwarming as this all is, I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about me like I wasn't here."

Yuko looked at him. "Alright. In that case, let's get down to business. Wantanuki is going to be in charge of you. He'll tell you everything you need to know to fulfill your duties."

"Ah, well you see, about that…" Karl said coyly.

Wantanuki could smell a sly excuse coming and interrupted him. "You're not going to talk your way out of this." He shoved a bucket and mop into Karl's hands. "Mop the entry way and then remove everything from the storage room and mop in there too. Don't break anything or you'll have to pay up."

Looking at the objects in his hands, Karl frowned ever so slightly. "Why does this give me an over-whelming sense of déjà-vu?"

Mokona jumped into the bucket and laughed deviously. "Don't worry! Mokona will keep an eye on him!"

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Yuko said. "Off you go Karl!"

He growled but there wasn't anything he could do. He couldn't kill them or his new found freedom would vanish. And he couldn't refuse to work because he didn't want to see what other nasty tricks Yuko had up her sleeve. So he sighed. "Fine, fine," he said.

Wantanuki was feeling pretty good. –Maybe there isn't much to this being in charge thing after all,- he thought. His thoughts ground to an abrupt halt as Karl's stone boot drove down onto his foot with vicious intent. The dark-haired boy yelled in pain and Karl smiled sweetly.

"Deary me, did I do that? Sorry." There was something about his laugh that made it clear he wasn't sorry at all. Karl vanished into the house before Wantanuki could do or say anything.

He turned to Yuko. "Did you see that?!"

"Yes," she said taking a sip of sake. "Perhaps I should have put more restrictions on him. Oh well."

"Is that all you have to say?" he asked. "'Oh well'? That hurt!"

"Stop being a baby. Nothing is broken, right?"

He calmed himself down but he wasn't beyond pouting. "I'm not a baby…" He then stomped off to prepare dinner.

***

Karl was still cleaning long after Wantanuki left. Mokona jumped around the storage room singing a song that had something to do with bowls and noodles. The statue paused in his work and looked at the funny black creature with a raised brow. Leaning down so they were face to face, Karl grinned at it. "I've been wondering, and I hope I'm not being rude, but what are you?"

"Mokona is a Mokona!" he said.

"I see." Karl examined him for a moment and then a murderous grin spread across his face. He turned Arma into a cutlass. "How about we see what a Mokona looks like on the inside."

"Uh-uh-uh," Yuko said from behind. Karl jumped and looked to see her standing in the doorway with an infuriatingly smug smile on her face. "No killing, remember?"

He tensed and gave her a fierce glare but relented. "Of course," he said, standing up. Arma returned to her normal form and perched on top of his head. Mokona leaped out from behind him and into Yuko's hand. Karl pointed at it. "Perhaps you can tell me what that thing is."

"Mokona is a Mokona," she replied. "You count them one Mokona, two Mokona and then that's it, because there's only two."

Karl failed to contain himself. "That's not an explanation!" he said, his grin more of a grimace.

Yuko laughed and didn't seem to care that this wasn't helping Karl's mood. "The Mokonas are something that I helped create. They have a very special set of abilities and make excellent drinking partners."

"Special set of abilities, you say," Karl said tactfully. At least as tactfully as a compulsive liar can get. "Would you care to explain?"

Yuko pretended to think for a moment. "No," she replied. Karl slumped in bitter disappointment. "And you better finish up. If Wantanuki finds you didn't finish your job I'm sure he'll have no problem telling me about it. Remember that your freedom is entirely in my hands right now."

"How could I forget?" Karl said, his eye twitching. He returned to moping but Yuko's piercing eyes were still on him. He turned around. "Is there something else, Witch Lady?"

"You're bird," she said.

"What about her?" he asked. Energy or no energy, he would kill Yuko if she tried to take Arma from him.

Yuko frowned. "Keep a close eye on her." Then she left.

Karl looked at the door with almost comical confusion. Then he sighed. "Humans are strange things, aren't they Arma?"

***

"So there's a statue working for Yuko now?" Himawari asked.

Wantanuki nodded. "And apparently he has a history of killing people. His payment for his wish was that he couldn't kill or hurt anyone."

Domeki picked out a piece of salmon from Wantanuki's bento box. "So has he tried to kill anyone yet?"

"No, but he did step on my foot really hard and –HEY!" He scowled at Domeki. "What to you think you're doing stealing someone else's food?! Ever heard the phrase 'don't bite the hand that feeds you'?!"

Himawari laughed. "You two are so funny when you pretend to fight with each other."

"Who says we're pretending?!"

"So will the statue guy be there today?" Domeki asked.

"Of course he will. From the sounds of it, he'll be at the shop for a while."

Domeki frowned. "Hm…"

Wantanuki gave him an exasperated look. "What?"

"Are you cooking tonight?"

"Of course! I cook for Yuko every night."

Domeki took another piece of food out of Domeki's bento box. "Then I'll come over to the shop for dinner. My parents are out of town."

"Is that your only excuse?!"

***

Wantanuki was met with the startling sight of Karl as he attempted to enter the shop grounds. He appeared in front of him with a big smile and a loud, "Well hello there Glasses-face!"

With a yell, Wantanuki retreated into Domeki who was unfazed. Karl looked at him with a cocked head. "And who's this?"

"Domeki," Wantanuki replied, trying to regain his composure. "He's an annoying jerk who makes your blood boil as soon as you look at him. He's staying for dinner."

"I see." Karl took a step towards them but stopped at the opening in the fence. It was as if an invisible wall was preventing him from going onto the sidewalk. He frowned and then threw himself up against the invisible barrio but to no avail. He sighed. "Looks like it's still there. So much for that idea." Arma landed on his head and looked at the pair standing on the sidewalk.

Wantanuki blinked. "Looks like he really can't leave." Then he grinned. "Well look at that." He stepped just inside the fence. "I can go in. I can go out. In. Out. In. Out." He jumped back and forth to demonstrate this and laughed at Karl. "Looks like I really am the sempai in this situation." He walked through and tripped over Karl's foot. Pulling his face off of the ground he growled at him.

Karl laughed, a sound Wantanuki decided he didn't like at all. "Sorry. Seems I was careless again."

"Listen you—WAH!" Wantanuki's reply was cut short as Maru and Moro ran over him as they chased after a large butterfly. Maru had a large net in her hand and Moro carried a jar as big as she was.

"Butterfly chase! Butterfly chase!" They yelled as they ran by.

"Why's it always gotta be me?" Wantanuki whimpered.

Karl smiled. "I think you look good with your face smashed into the ground. That way you can't talk."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Domeki spoke up. Arma was perched on his arm and regarding him warily. "So is your bird made of stone as well?"

"No she's made out of ce…cement…" His voice died in his throat as he saw Domeki had Arma. Yuko's words came back in full forced. –Your bird….keep an eye on her….-His smile became murderous and he grabbed Domeki's collar. Arma fluttered back onto Karl's shoulder as the blonde man glared at him. "You know, I think Glasses-face is right, your face does make my blood boil. If I had any."

Domeki glared back and Wantanuki was scared that perhaps they would begin fighting. Maru and Moro appeared again, this time with the butterfly in the giant jar. They knocked Karl over as they sped past. "Mistress! Mistress! We caught it!"

The two went inside followed by a disgruntled Karl. Yuko was smiling at Maru and Moro as they placed the large jar on the table. "Thank you girls. I was scared we would loose it for good this time."

"What is that?" Wantanuki asked. "Another escaped pattern?"

"No. It's payment from a customer. Though when she said large butterfly, I didn't expect it to be this large." She laughed and looked at Karl. She leaned over and whispered to Wantanuki. "He tried to escape six different times last night and three times today. I'm afraid he's in a sour mood."

He nodded. "Oh…"

Yuko pulled away and smiled. "But let's not linger on bad news! Time to get cooking. And I would like some of the vintage sake to go with it."

"Figures," Wantanuki mumbled.

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Well that was....fun. Next chapter prepare for the entrance of everyone's favourite mannequin! ^_^


	3. Chapter 3

None of these characters belong to me.

Karl, Climber, Castle and Jack all belong to Unknown-Person from . Go check out his stuff!

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A few days after Karl had entered the shop, Wantanuki head a loud crash outside. He blinked. He was just finishing up dinner preparations and he hoped Karl wasn't trying to escape again. He sighed and turned off the stove. Opening the window he stuck his head out and looked around. There wasn't anyone in sight in the yard.

"Must have been hearing things again," he muttered. He was just about to shut the window when a tall, thin figure jumped through.

"Wah!" Wantanuki yelled as he tumbled out of the way. A person dressed in a mountain climber outfit scrambled through the window, a pickax clutched in one hand. "Who…who are you?" Wantanuki asked.

The person looked at him from under his helmet, but he had not chance to reply because Karl crashed through the window at that moment. "Why are you running away Cloth Guy?" he taunted. "I just wanted to talk to you."

He yelled, stumbling back. "I told you, Mister Jack says for you to come back with

us."

"And as I told you, I can't right now. It really is dull repeating this conversation for you. If only you had a brain." Karl laughed, running his thumb across his black blade.

The tall new comer wasn't easily swayed. Gripping his pickax, he stood his ground.

"You'd lying to me," he exclaimed. "You're always lying to me."

Yuko's voice drifted to them lazily from the doorway. "Actually he's telling the truth. For once. Karl is bound to stay here until he pays his debt. But it is nice to meet you Climber."

He spun to look at her. "How…how did you know my name?" he stammered

"Let's just say I did Castle a favor a while back. He's told me quite a bit about you."

"Ferris wheel," Climber said with awe.

"But the fact that you were able to come here means…" She took a long drag of her opium pipe before letting the smoke slither out of her mouth. "That you have a wish."

***

Climber kneeled at the table as Yuko ate. "I still don't understand, what did you mean by…. a wish."

"This shop exists for the sole purpose of granting wishes," Yuko explained. "I can make anything you ask for come to pass, with the proper payment of course. So tell me Climber, what is your wish?"

Uneven eyes turned downward, staring at his gloved hands. "I…"

"It's to be with that human isn't it?"

Climber jumped and turned to look at Karl who had appeared at his shoulder.

Scrambling away he scowled. "S-stay away," he stammered.

Karl laughed. "Aw, I'm sorry, did I scare you? But I'm right, aren't I?"

He averted his eyes, a defeated grimace on his pale face.

"So just who is it that he's talking about?" Yuko asked.

Righting himself, Climber kept his distance from Karl. "Clarice. She… she's my friend. My only friend. I wanted her to stay with me in the park but… she said she had a life outside the park so she couldn't. Do you think you could make it so we could be together?"

Yuko frowned. "Hm… The thing your asking for clearly means a lot to you, so that

means you must give up something of equal value."

"Like what?" Climber asked.

"You would have to sacrifice the memories Clarice has of you."

He froze, eyes wide with terror. "What… W-what do you mean?"

"If I do this, she won't remember any of your previous relationship. All of it will be gone forever. Are you willing to still do it?"

Wantanuki watched Climber from the doorway. It reminded him of the scene he had witnessed in the rain, with Sayoran and Sakura. He had to give up his relationship. Sakura would never remember who he was or how things were before. Wantanuki also remembered how Sayoran accepted the terms without hesitation. Would Climber do the same?

He looked up, a pained expression on his muddy face. "I'm sorry but… I… I don't think I can do that."

Yuko looked at him, her face unreadable. "I see." She took a sip of her sake. "Well, even though you don't want me to grant you wish, I will tell you something." Grinning at him from over the rim of her sake glass, she spoke in slow, deliberate tones. "There will come a time in your future when you will be able to be with her. Though there will be a good deal of hardships before that can happen, it will come in

time."

Climber lit up. "R-really?" His face filled with pure joy. "Thank you so much."

Karl let out a harsh laugh, cutting Climber's joyful thoughts short. "I hope you don't take any offense to this Witch Lady, but I think that's absolutely ridiculous." His cold eyes cut into Climber. "Everyone knows it's impossible for people like us to ever be with humans."

The happiness vanished from him and Climber looked away with a pouting scowl. Wantanuki had a feeling this wasn't the first time Karl had said this to him. Yuko continued eating, her eyes closed. "Just because your relationship with a human ended in pain and suffering doesn't mean his will as well."

A small gasp of surprise came from Climber and he gave Karl a confused stare. "Relationship? Then that means…" Deadly anger and fear filled the Karl's face and he knocked the table over, his turning his crow into a sword. He held the weapon just a breath from Yuko's neck.

"How do you know about that?" he snarled.

No trace of fear crossed Yuko's beautiful face. "As I said earlier, Castle and I have had several exchanges in the past. You didn't really think I wouldn't know about your past, did you? I know lots about you. More than you would probably like me to express in mixed company."

Karl faltered and as if remembering his constricting contract, backed away. "You win this time, Witch Lady." He rubbed the bracelet on his wrist with a cruel grin. "But just give me some time. I'll find a way to get around you spell."

"I looked forward to watching you try," Yuko said with an amused smile. "But do you think you could clean up your mess first?" Karl looked at the overturned table and array of broken dishes and food. "You seem to just be making more work for yourself."

He gave her a disgusted grin. "You..."

"Don't look at me like that," she said with a laugh. "It's your own fault after all."

Climber frowned. "So…Does that mean after a few weeks, Karl can leave?"

"That's right," Yuko said. "After that he's all yours. You're welcomed to stay here until then if you like."

Wantanuki blanched. "What? You mean more people to keep track of?"

Sitting as tall and straight as he could, Climber wore an expression of innocent determination. "I'll be real useful, I promise."

Karl snorted and Climber glowered at him. Wantanuki sighed. "I appreciate the offer but I have a feeling this is just going to cause more work for me."

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Yay for Climber! More to come people, sorry about the long wait in updating. Thanks to everyone who commented, it's really kept this fic alive.


	4. Chapter 4

The adventure continues kids! This chapter is just some (mostly) harmless fooling around and silliness. Nothing too serious this time.

Once again, none of these characters belong to me.

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Climber sat outside of the shop wearing a lonely expression. Wantanuki was at school and the shop was fairly quiet in the heat of the afternoon. He let out a long sigh and wondered what Clarice was doing right now. How long had it been since he had seen her? A long, long time. Climber closed his eyes as he remembered their first meeting so long ago.

The memories occupied his attention and he didn't notice the pink and blue heads that poked around the corner. Maru and Moro looked at him and then at each other. "Sneak, sneak sneak," the whispered as the tiptoed over to him. Standing on either side of him, they looked at him with wide eyes. Then they smiled. "Climber!"

His eyes shot open and he yelped in surprise. The twins laughed and wrapped their arms around him. "Climber! Climber! Climber!" they sang.

"Uh…y-yes?" he stammered, not really sure what he should do.

"Come play with us," Maru said.

"It's so boring without Wantanuki," Moro added.

"And Karl won't play with us."

"And Mistress is working."

Climber smiled. "O-ok. What should we play?"

The twins gave him matching grins. "It's called the catch the crow game!"

If Climber had any color in his face it would have drained away. "Th-that sounds a little…dangerous…." -Especially if they're talking about the crow I think they are, - he added silently.

"It's fun, it's fun," they insisted.

"As long as we don't get caught by Mistress," Moro whispered.

"Or Karl."

"I don't think I want to play," Climber said. "Karl doesn't really like me and…."

They pouted and glomped him. "Pleeeeeeease Mister Climber?" they begged. "Just once? We're just so bored and it's more fun when three people play."

"Ok, but just one time and that's it," he conceded. He wanted to be useful and help them out. But something told him this wouldn't end well.

* * *

Arma was just a crow when she wasn't in Karl's hands. But, even knowing this, Climber was still scared of her. "I don't think this is a good idea," he whispered to the two girls.

"Just watch."

"Just watch."

"It'll be fun," they said in unison. Then they took off across the yard. Climber almost yelled for them to come back but then remembered that Karl might be near-by and decided against it. Wishing he hadn't left his pickaxe in the shop, he followed Maru and Moro.

Hiding in the bushes, Maru held a net and Moro crouched low. "One…two…THREE!" They burst from their hiding place and swung the net at Arma. The crow dodged they attack and flew away. "Follow!" the twins exclaimed.

"W-wait!" Climber yelled running after them. Moro grabbed her twin by the waist and lifted her up so she could get a better shot. They swiped and snatched but Arma avoided them. Moro jumped and grabbed Arma, attempting to bring her down. The crow struggled and broke free only to run right into the soft stomach of Climber. He fell back but grabbed hold of her.

"You did it!" Maru and Moro laughed and went over to him. He struggled to keep her from flying away.

"N-now what?" he asked.

There was a snap as the heavy boots of a certain pirate broke the abandoned net. "What are you doing?" Karl asked, his smile an annoyed grimace and his scarred eye twitching madly.

"Uh…" The twins turned heel. "Run away!"

Climber looked at them and then at Karl and the bird in his hands. Then he yelped and took off as well. He thought of maybe just letting Arma go, but then Karl would turn her into a sword and cut him to pieces.

"Why are you running Cloth Guy?" Karl taunted as he ran after him. "Give Arma back."

"No," he cried. Now what? Now what? Now what? He thought frantically as he ran through the yard. Karl kept up with him, but as usual, Climber was too fast for him.

The mannequin came to an abrupt halt as Yuko stepped out of the shop. "Miss Yuko, help me!" He hid behind her, still keeping a firm grip on Arma.

Karl stopped in front of Yuko and glared daggers at Climber. "Give…her…back…" he spat.

"Climber," Yuko said, holding out her hand. He looked at her and then at the crow struggling between his hands. Looking ashamed of himself he handed the bird over to her. Arma didn't flutter away and instead remained with the tall woman. "I believe I told you earlier to keep an eye on your bird." Yuko stroked Arma with a smile. "I thought you were heartless, not careless."

"I…I didn't mean to cause any trouble. The two little girls wanted me to play and…I'm sorry." Climber hung his head. He wasn't useful at all now.

"That's quite alright, it was Karl's fault for letting her wander around alone."

"I fail to see how this is my fault," Karl said, barely able to keep his temper under control. It was clear that when he had a chance he was going to murder Climber.

Yuko let Arma go and she fluttered back to her owner. "Climber, I need you to run something to Wantanuki. He'll be getting out of school soon and I want him to pick up some things for me on his way home. Can you do that for me?"

Karl bristled. How dare she ignore him! "May I dare ask why –he- gets to leave and I don't?"

"That's easy," Yuko said, handing the mannequin a list. "He's just more useful than you are and less likely to get into trouble."

Climber blinked. Useful? Really? A smile came to his face but it vanished as he saw the cruel look Karl was giving him. Yuko's voice brought his attention back to her. "Take Mokona with you and he'll tell you how to get to Wantanuki's school, ok?"

"Ok. Th-thank you…. for saying I'm useful."

"Of course." Yuko looked at Karl who was still seething in anger. These two were very interesting. They were the same, with no similarity. What a paradox.

* * *

That's all for now folks! Hope you enjoyed this fun little chapter.


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